Critical Thinking on The Second Great Awakening

Introduction

The concepts of transcendentalism and the second great awakening reacted distinctly to the ideas of antebellum American culture and thought. The Second Great Awakening stressed on an emotional religious theory of living in which the sinners struggled with their worthless nature before turning around and becoming born again. Being born again meant turning away from a sinful past and becoming committed to a Christ-centered and righteous life (Open Tax College 366). Emphasis on salvation was the religious embodiment of the Jacksonian model of celebrating the individual. Transcendentalists maintained a critical view of mainstream American culture and heritage. Such individuals reacted against the age of growing democracy in the present day Jacksonian America and supported sentiments of individualism against the concept of conformity (Open Tax College 366). European romanticism movement influenced United States transcendentalists. European romanticism was a movement of art and literature that stressed on the significance of emotion as opposed to cold and calculated reason. The movement supported the way transcendentalists celebrated the unique nature of feelings of the individual.

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Of the various approaches that tried to solve the issue of slavery, Absolutism was the most effective as it dealt with the root or the core of the issue and thereby reduced the compulsion of victims to fall prey to the promise of better lives in foreign lands. Proponents of Absolutism took a radical approach to the issue of slavery using moral arguments that spoke to reason and advocated for the immediate elimination of the policy (Open Tax College 381). They showcased the atrocities that were committed by the slave masters and purposed to create a society that was characterized by equity and equality among both the Africans and their masters. The US was gripped with a deep state of religious fervor and hence they hoped to create mass awakening about the sin of slavery (Open Tax College 381). They were confident that they could change the conscience of the nation against the peculiar institution of the South. A great disparity exists in the area of labor distribution in developing nations. Some of the means by which modern slavery manifests include by the use of force, coercion, and fraud. Majority of the profits that come from modern slavery accrues from sex trafficking whereas the majority of the people abused are caught up in labor trafficking (Open Tax College 381). Therefore, the best approach to end the issue of slavery is extinguishing the root cause of the problem.

Antebellum feminists were both radical and traditional at the same time in the fight for the rights of women. The traditional role women held as nurturers played a major role in the encouragement of their participation in feminism. For instance, women who participated in the cause temperance stuck to their role as moral compasses in the home (Open Tax College 384). Some women stood for a more complex role than that of their peers. They did this by educating men as well as children in principles that were solely Republican. The work of such women in the antislavery movement served as a springboard for other women to take action against the vice of gender equality (Open Tax College 384). Many of such women came from the south region of the United States. Radical thoughts that surrounded the efforts of antebellum feminists were created by some northern feminists who saw vital and new roles for their gender in the education sector.

Works Cited

Open Tax College. US History. New York: Rice University, 2014.